10 great footballers who were incredibly difficult to manage
Most elite footballers are regarded highly for their professionalism and work ethic, which is said to contribute to making a great footballer. However, not all footballers are cut out from the same cloth, and sometimes, they are as eccentric as their playing styles.
Brazil has been home to some of the greatest talents in footballing history, but the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Romario were not known for their professionalism off the pitch. As former PSG man Jerome Leroy said, "Players with his enormous talent are usually a little crazy.”
On that note, let’s take a look at ten great footballers who were incredibly difficult to manage.
#10 Jonathan Woodgate
Jonathan Woodgate was one of the finest defenders in the Premier League back in the day, and earned a move to Real Madrid in 2004.
The Englishman spent most of his year-long stay in the Spanish capital nursing injuries that plagued him throughout his career. Woodgate made a disastrous debut for Real Madrid, scoring an own goal and was also sent off in front of the home crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Woodgate made his England debut at just 19, and big things were expected from the Englishman. However, he lacked a good work ethic and skipped training sessions at will.
Leading up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Woodgate predicted he would be left out of Fabio Capello’s English squad. Jonathan Woodgate said:
“I don’t train all the time, as well, and he likes people who train every day, so, we’ll see what happens.”
#9 Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez displayed immense maturity since his move to Barcelona in the summer of 2014 in a reported €81.72 million deal.
Before that, though, the Uruguayan had built up an infamous reputation during his time in Ajax, Liverpool and with the Uruguay national team. Regarded by many as a distasteful and disgraceful act, Suarez faced a 7-match ban for biting PSV's Otman Bakkal when at Ajax.
The now-34-year-old did not learn his lesson, as he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in 2013 and Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
These incidents made Suarez one of the hardest footballers to manage, as coaches had to deal with lengthy suspensions and bans acquired by the Uruguayan. His on-field antics and attitude is perhaps what make him a great footballer, but it definitely leaves a bad taste in the manager’s mouth.
#8 Antonio Cassano
The legendary Italian footballer was so hard to manage that Fabio Capello coined a term exclusively for Antonio Cassano - Cassanata.
Cassanata can be described as any inappropriate or silly behaviour, any behaviour that is incompatible with team spirit in football. It is also used to describe any unbelievable, unfathomable piece of brilliance in football.
Fabio Capello was like a father figure to Cassano, and was the Italian’s manager at AS Roma and for a brief spell at Real Madrid. In an interview, Capello spoke of the Italian forward:
“He’s (Antonio Cassano) more fake than monopoly money.”
Operating as a second striker for most of his career, Cassano scored 139 goals and provided 94 assists. However, one of Cassano’s records perfectly describes the prolific goalscorer.
The now-39-year-old holds the record for being the only player to score, get booked and subsequently get sent off, all within the span of a minute.